Lloyd walker pre-amps

BTW, I concur completely with Rushton. Well said.

I have also listened to Lloyd's system. It may be relevent for you to know that the phono stage is perfectly capable of use without a line stage, It has sufficient gain and a vanishingly low output impedence. Lloyd likes the effect of tubes in the chain but had formerly been successfully using the phono by itself.

I don't own one, but I've listened extensively to both the phono stage and the line stage in Lloyd's own system through various changes in other components over time. As one might expect of Lloyd's work, both are exceptionally resolving and neutral, with outstanding reproduction of the natural timbre of instruments, exceptional quickness and agility, and huge dynamic range reproduction. The utter neutrality of the phono stage may require one to recalibrate one's expectations a bit; it can be startling on first listening, but well worth investing the time to come to grips with what it's [not] doing. The line stage is a sweetheart; tube-based, it also is very neutral but with all the best attributes of superb sound staging and image dimensionality. Keep in mind that both devices function at the far fringe of the best in minimalist design in the service of superb sound.